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"Vulnerable children with special needs should be treated with the highest standard of care,” said Grewal, who added Derrick's conduct "demonstrated a level of cruelty that has no place in the nursing profession."

In testimony at a court hearing this year, Derrick denied touching the boy with the needle "but conceded that she did 'threaten him with the needle to calm him down,'" the State Board of Nursing said in a final order Thursday.

Derrick testified that the boy would call her names, pull her hair, throw a sheet at her, and try to leave the room and go into other patients’ rooms, according to Grewal's statement.

A former nurse from AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center has lost her license after being accused of repeatedly jabbing an autistic child with a hypodermic needle.(Photo: Courier-Post file photo)

She admitted repeatedly telling the boy over a 12-hour shift that he'd be “put in restraints and get the injection.”

But the board's order noted Administrative Law Judge Joann Lasala Candido found incriminating evidence from security cameras and a co-worker to be more credible.

"At the very least, uncapping a needle and holding it near an autistic child who is flailing his arms and legs is an inherent danger," Candido said in a June ruling that recommended revocation of Derrick's license.

The Nursing Board's order said Derrick, a nurse for eight years, stuck the child on his upper arm, thigh, kneecaps, foot, and hand, frequently drawing droplets of blood.

It noted the hypodermic needle was empty, but said Derrick's use of the needle "as a threat and for discipline constitutes professional misconduct."

The board's order backed the judge's finding that Derrick's actions showed "gross repeated negligence, malpractice and incompetence," as well as "a lack of good moral character."

The board's order said Derrick, who had argued for a suspension, must pay 10 percent of the state's cost of her case, or almost $2,200.

The order also Derrick, whose license was suspended in August 2016, now earns $10 per hour working in a store.

The state is also moving for the revocation of Derrick’s respiratory therapist license under the State Board of Respiratory Care.

Derrick was charged with aggravated assault, child endangerment and other offenses in connection with the incident. The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office earlier this year allowed her to enter a pretrial intervention program to resolve those charges.